A total of 49mm of rain in the space of 36 hours has forced Southwell to abandon its eight-race Flat card on Fibresand on Tuesday afternoon, leaving the jumps cards at Sedgefield and Lingfield as the only action in Britain. “The water is sitting on top of the track in places so we’ve had to abandon,” Richard Aldous, the raceday clerk of the course at Southwell, said on Tuesday morning, adding the small ray of good news that “the river hasn’t burst, so the rest of the racecourse has not been flooded”.
Southwell’s devotees must wait until 6 December for their next fix of Fibresand, but in the meantime, Bells ‘N’ Banjos (2.35) could be worth a small interest in the two-and-a-half mile handicap hurdle at Lingfield on Tuesday afternoon.
Warren Greatrex’s six-year-old is not famed for his consistency, and showed very little on his latest start at Market Rasen back in May. However, he was successful on his racecourse debut back in 2014 and also won first time up after a seven-month break in November 2015.
A 14-length win at Fontwell prompted a 14lb hike in his rating from the handicapper, but Bells ‘N’ Banjos has been slipping back to a more workable mark since then and is now just 6lb higher in the weights. This could well be the day to catch him, and he is certainly worth a bet at around 9-2.
Cloudy Copper (3.10) also catches the eye in the stayers’ handicap chase on the same card. Jonjo O’Neill’s runner got no further than the seventh in the Southern National at Fontwell last time out, but stands every chance on the form of his previous success at Ffos Las in April, a one-and-a-half length victory from a mark of 124 which was recorded on heavy ground.
Minella On Line looks like the one to beat here after a comfortable success last time out, but that was only the second success of a distinctly in-and-out career and odds around 2-1 make little appeal.
Arquebusier (2.05), twice a winner on heavy ground in November and December last year, is another to consider on the same card, while Waiting Patiently (1.10) and Mitcd (1.40) look like the most solid options on the card at Sedgefield.
